On March 5. 2008 I took a Spirit airplane down here and began my unofficial residency.  On March 31st last year I moved into this house!

My taxes were driving me crazy.  Certain items wouldn’t fit into any part of any program I tried.  I refused to send my taxes to my New York CPA on the grounds that I’m pretty sure his mistake got me audited.  The audit sat on his desk for two months because “you sent it to me during tax season,” and he made some mistakes in my tax return.

I couldn’t deal with looking at my taxes anymore and didn’t want to go to a CPA.  So I took them to Wal Mart. Yes Wal Mart.  Where I had to explain what “cost basis” was, among other things, but five hours later between the very nice woman, the district manager who used a remote computer and me we got them done.  It turned out I couldn’t find the places because there weren’t any places in regular programs for them, and the district manager did somethings she explained to me.  I just had some weird stuff.  Not much money but a lot of very weird items.

I can’t explain how happy this made me.  Not only were my taxes done but I was finished with New York, except for the dentist, family and friends.  My dentist(s) and I have gone through so much together I can’t give them up.

I was so excited after finishing at Wal Mart I called my sister who got out of her sick bed to be very excited also.  Maybe when she comes to North Myrtle this summer, she’ll actually go into Wal Mart.  Last year all she did was say “that’s so pretty.  Where’s it from?”  “Wal Mart.”  “What a gorgeous street.  Where does it go?”  “Wal Mart.”

It’s a lonely feeling despite constantly being surrounded by people. A feeling of “if I hadn’t bought the house I could have traveled the world. I could have done this….done that….” Not lonely in the traditional sense but lonely in the “there’s no one expert who could have helped me come to a decision.” I think I made a good decision. Here’s an article in The New York Times Magazine by an economics reporter who defends his arrogant and sickening decision to almost willfully go into foreclosure. I know the article wasn’t written to make me feel great but it did.

I need to be grounded and I certainly have achieved that. I’m wedded to this house. And I know there will be times the house tries to tell me who is the boss. But I will know, in my heart, that I did everything possible to make an 80′s beach house into a home for this century.

My sister objects when I say I live in a court though the sign says “court,” and maybe she’s right. It could be an enclave.

I think of my enclave, and the surrounding blocks as Laurel Canyon without the Canyon, debauchery, and crazy people in media. Or Coconut Grove FL in the 70′s without the exotic tropical flora, debauchery and crazed hippies.

I’m doing my best to make it exotic with a large flower bed that looks like a dog ate the flowers but EldonOne assures me in a week the flowers will blossom. I’m sensing a similarity in temperature ranges to Provence as at least four people have offered me Rosemary (I will take it from EldonOne) and I’m growing lavender, much lavender, that I hope to be able to offer house guests as a souvenir of their stay.

Tomorrow I should be getting outdoor furniture,* some palm trees and more tropical flora though this winter was cold, I think I have learned how to save them from frost and snow. I took pictures of the palms I was growing in the townhouse and was going to entitle them “Snow will stick in SC when a Black man is inaugurated president,” but I didn’t really think of that then.

*The outdoor furniture might be difficult. This whole house has been furnished with old (mine) furniture or cheap yet good furniture from the Internet, Target, Best Buy, and uh Wal Mart has played enough of a role for my b-i-l, niece and I to have a running joke. My sister has incredible style and a head for bargains but she’s so not the Wal Mart type. Neither am I or CLo, and yes we know the North Myrtle Wal Mart is where Northerners go to look at the Rednecks and feel superior, enough have told us, but…we have found some incredible things there.

My sister would say “this is so beautiful. Where’s it from?” The answer would usually be Wal Mart. My sister asked when we passed Dietra (I don’t know a person who knows how to pronounce that) Lane “that’s so beautiful. Where does it lead? ” “uh, Wal Mart.”

I don’t know who was the master of suburban planning who designed the Lowes (home store) shopping center and the one next to it (Home Depot, Wal Mart with two small strip malls). You can see them from Route 17, and sort of see the Lowes shopping center but not so that it interferes with anything and can’t see the Wal Mart one at all. I find that incredible.

Bike week has been a bust. Probably much to do with the Myrtle Beach helmet laws and I would think a lot to do with the recession though that’s being underplayed.

The City of North Myrtle is proposing to do away with Mayfest more commonly known as “Beach Boy” day. That would be a shame as it really is fun and I decided to move here last year on Beach Boy day so yes it has a direct incredible economic ramification on the city.

Oh, I try not buying things from China but I would have to give up Wal Mart and really anyplace cheap. So I was looking at a label and something said “made in Pakistan.” Which is worse? I think the later but what do I know?